Chapter 158: A Suspicious Funeral
So it really was true.
I suddenly remembered what Overlord Saber Ghost Demon Muk Jincheol had told me.
The rumor that Kunlun was preparing my funeral.
When I first heard it...
I'd thought it was ridiculous.
I was perfectly alive.
What kind of funeral were they talking about?
And yet—
They really were holding my funeral.
I looked around the altar.
White funeral banners fluttered in the wind.
Kunlun disciples stood with grief-stricken faces and lowered heads.
The martial world believed I'd been attacked by the Demonic Cult at Falling Death Valley and fallen to my death.
So naturally...
this was the funeral they had prepared.
But something was strange.
Why now?
Several months had already passed since I fell from Falling Death Valley.
So why were they suddenly holding my funeral only now?
That wasn't the only strange thing.
Where is everyone else?
Even though this was a funeral being held inside the sect...
Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon was nowhere to be seen.
And not just him.
Jin Gwangung.
Hyeongwon, Yu Seola, and Myeongjeon, who had fought alongside me during the Dragon-Phoenix Awakening Tournament.
Even Sogwang from the Event Hall.
None of them were here.
Something's wrong.
For a funeral meant to mourn my death...
far too many of the people closest to me were missing.
I couldn't just stand around watching anymore.
I needed to understand exactly what was happening.
I needed someone who could tell me honestly what had happened inside Kunlun while I was gone.
Who should I find first?
After thinking briefly...
one person came to mind.
Right. Let's move.
I immediately activated my movement technique.
Using Void Night Shadow Step, I reached my destination without being noticed by anyone.
The Event Hall.
Most ceremonies held within the sect were handled by the people of the Event Hall.
If I wanted to know exactly how my funeral had come about...
there was no better place to ask.
More importantly...
there was someone there I trusted.
Sogwang should know something.
Unlike usual, the Event Hall was silent.
There was barely any chatter.
Hardly any workers were moving around.
Most of them had probably gone out to assist with my funeral.
I headed straight for the quarters inside the Event Hall building where Sogwang stayed.
His door was half open.
And from inside came a familiar voice.
“Kugh... Mujin....”
Sogwang.
“Why did you have to die...?”
“Why did it have to be you...?”
I stopped at the doorway.
Sogwang was sitting at a table.
In front of him were a few awkwardly arranged dishes that could hardly be called a proper ancestral offering.
A few pieces of rice cake.
A cup of tea.
And a piece of dried meat that looked like he'd secretly saved it for himself.
Sogwang stared blankly at the food...
as though it were an offering prepared for my spirit.
“I told you.”
He sniffled.
“I told you not to go around trying to learn martial arts for no reason....”
He wiped his tears with his sleeve.
“If you'd just stayed here and worked with me in the Event Hall, none of this would've happened....”
His voice cracked.
“Why did you have to learn martial arts and get yourself killed by those Demonic Cult bastards...?”
Sogwang wiped his eyes again.
“Mujin... I...”
He took a shaky breath.
“I couldn't stay there.”
His eyes reddened further.
“Sitting in front of your memorial tablet while people talked about your death like it was already settled... I couldn't breathe.”
He looked at the food on the table.
“Still, don't go hungry on your way to the afterlife.”
He pointed at the dried meat.
“I was saving this for myself...”
His lips trembled.
“but I'll give you all of it.”
Listening to him...
I felt complicated.
I was grateful that someone could mourn me this deeply.
But at the same time...
it was more than a little awkward.
Here I was, alive and perfectly fine...
while Sogwang had already prepared food for my journey to the afterlife.
I quietly stepped into the room.
Then closed the half-open door.
Creeeak.
At the sound, Sogwang jerked his head up.
“W-What?”
He looked around.
“Was that the wind?”
Because I was still using Void Night Shadow Step...
he couldn't see me yet.
I released the technique.
Our eyes met.
"..."
A moment of silence.
Sogwang stared at my face.
His mouth slowly fell open.
Then his entire body toppled backward.
“AAAAARGH!”
He landed on his backside and screamed.
“A g-ghost! It's a ghost!”
Sogwang sat on the floor, wildly waving both hands through the air.
“Mujin! You must've died with so much resentment that you came all the way back here!”
"..."
“But you can't do this!”
He looked genuinely terrified.
“You can't become a vengeful spirit and wander the mortal world!”
“You need to go to the afterlife!”
Then he hurriedly pointed at the table.
“I'll keep preparing offerings for you, so please just go somewhere nice!”
"..."
I could only sigh.
“What vengeful spirit?”
I walked over to him.
“Sogwang. I'm not a ghost.”
His eyes widened.
“L-Liar!”
He pointed at me.
“How can a dead man be standing here?!”
I grabbed his shoulder.
“Feel this.”
I squeezed lightly.
“Does a ghost feel this warm?”
"..."
Sogwang flinched.
He looked down at my hand.
Then back up at my face.
His eyes began trembling violently.
“M-Mujin?”
“Yeah. Sogwang.”
“It's really you?”
“I told you it is.”
“Really? You're not a ghost?”
I clicked my tongue.
“How many times are you going to call me a ghost?”
Sogwang's face crumpled.
The fear from moments ago transformed into an expression desperately trying not to cry.
“Mujiiiin!”
He jumped to his feet and tried to rush at me.
I hurriedly raised my left index finger to my lips.
“Keep your voice down.”
“Mmph!”
Sogwang immediately covered his mouth with both hands.
“For now, keep the fact that I'm alive a secret.”
Sogwang nodded frantically, tears still pooling in his eyes.
“Y-Yeah. Got it.”
His voice came out muffled through his hands.
“I won't tell anyone.”
“Not a single person.”
He kept staring at my face as though he'd seen something unbelievable.
“What happened to you?”
His eyes widened.
“They said you were killed by the Demonic Cult—”
“Let me ask first.”
I cut him off and went straight to the point.
Sogwang wiped his tears and looked at me.
“Ask what?”
“Why are they suddenly holding my funeral?”
I narrowed my eyes.
“And why aren't the Sect Leader or Master Jin Gwangung there?”
Sogwang's expression stiffened.
“Well... that's....”
I frowned.
“What is it?”
“Why are you hesitating?”
After I pressed him...
Sogwang carefully spoke.
“I don't know everything.”
He lowered his voice.
“Most of what I know is just what I heard from other people.”
“That's fine.”
I leaned forward.
“Tell me everything you know.”
Sogwang nodded.
“When people first started talking about holding your funeral...”
His expression turned serious.
“there were far more people against it than for it.”
I blinked.
“More people were against it?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded.
“They said that even though you'd fallen from Falling Death Valley after being attacked by the Demonic Cult...”
“no one except Moyong Seong had actually seen you die.”
I remained silent.
Sogwang continued.
“So a lot of people argued that we shouldn't hold a funeral until your body was found.”
His face grew sad.
“Especially Elder Jin Gwangung.”
I froze.
“Master?”
“Yeah.”
Sogwang looked miserable.
“After you disappeared, Elder Jin didn't even return to Kunlun.”
He swallowed.
“I heard he spent almost an entire month searching around Falling Death Valley.”
"..."
“Even when people told him to stop...”
Sogwang shook his head.
“he wouldn't listen.”
“He said he wasn't looking for your corpse.”
His voice softened.
“He was looking for proof that you were still alive.”
I fell silent.
A heavy feeling settled in my chest.
“If Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon hadn't personally gone to stop him...”
Sogwang continued,
“he might still be searching around Falling Death Valley right now.”
He paused.
“Even after returning to Kunlun, Elder Jin refused to accept that you were dead.”
“He said he wouldn't believe it unless he saw your body with his own eyes.”
His gaze lowered.
“And when they finally decided to hold the funeral anyway...”
“he shut himself inside the Abandoned Martial Hall and hasn't come out since.”
“Master....”
The word escaped my mouth before I realized it.
Jin Gwangung.
That rough, eccentric old Taoist.
A man whose fists moved before his words...
and whose way of treating his disciple was as blunt as it was ridiculous.
But even when everyone else believed I was dead...
he had refused.
He had searched Falling Death Valley for traces proving I was alive.
Thinking about how he must have felt...
my eyes almost burned.
I closed them briefly.
Then opened them again.
“What about the others?”
Sogwang blinked.
“The others?”
“The Sect Leader.”
I continued,
“And the other elders.”
I frowned.
“None of them seemed to be at the funeral either.”
Sogwang shook his head.
“I don't know the details.”
Then he hesitated.
“But... there were a lot of people who thought your death was strange.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Strange?”
“Yeah.”
Sogwang nodded.
“They couldn't understand why Demonic Cult members would suddenly appear and attack you.”
He continued carefully,
“And your body was never found either.”
"..."
“But the person who testified was Young Master Moyong Seong.”
Moyong Seong.
That cowardly bastard.
The instant I heard his name...
my heart turned cold.
Sogwang continued.
“Because he's the son of Alliance Leader Moyong Cheonhwi, no one could openly call him a liar.”
He sighed.
“Still, a lot of people didn't believe him in their hearts.”
“Maybe that's why some of them deliberately stayed away from the funeral.”
I frowned.
“Even so, it's strange for the Sect Leader himself not to attend.”
Sogwang shifted awkwardly.
“Actually...”
His voice lowered.
“I don't think the Sect Leader wanted this funeral either.”
I stared at him.
“The Sect Leader didn't want it?”
That made even less sense.
For a funeral like this to be held inside Kunlun...
the Sect Leader's permission should've been essential.
And yet even he hadn't wanted it?
“Then how did the funeral happen?”
I stared at Sogwang.
“If the Sect Leader didn't want it either?”
Sogwang hesitated for a moment.
Then answered carefully.
“I think...”
He swallowed.
“it has something to do with the Righteous Alliance.”
My voice rose without meaning to.
“The Righteous Alliance?”
Why were they involved here too?
Sogwang quickly nodded.
“A messenger from the Righteous Alliance came not long ago.”
“The moment he arrived at Kunlun, he met directly with the Sect Leader.”
Then he added,
“After that...”
“the date for your funeral was suddenly decided.”
I frowned.
“Do you know what the Righteous Alliance messengers said?”
“No.”
Sogwang shook his head.
“I don't know that much.”
Then he glanced around before lowering his voice to a whisper.
“But....”
I leaned closer.
“But what?”
“Even right now...”
Sogwang said,
“I heard the Sect Leader is meeting with people from the Righteous Alliance.”
I stared at him.
“Where?”
“At the Sect Leader's Palace.”
This was getting suspicious.
I needed to find out exactly what was going on.
I looked at Sogwang.
“For now, don't tell anyone I'm alive.”
“Yeah.”
He nodded quickly.
“I understand.”
“I swear I won't tell anyone.”
I nodded.
Then turned around.
Sogwang hurriedly called after me.
“Mujin! Where are you going?”
I walked toward the door.
“The Sect Leader's Palace.”
My voice hardened.
“I need to find out what's actually happening.”
“M-Mujin!”
Sogwang tried to say something more...
but I'd already activated Void Night Shadow Step.
Leaving his startled breathing behind...
I slipped out of the Event Hall.
Then headed toward the Sect Leader's Palace at full speed.
Not long afterward...
I reached the Sect Leader's Palace.
The atmosphere around it was different from usual.
The presence of the Kunlun disciples guarding the area felt much sharper.
Security was noticeably tighter.
And Kunlun disciples weren't the only ones standing watch.
There were unfamiliar martial artists too.
The tokens at their waists.
The patterns embroidered on their collars.
Their identities were obvious from their clothes alone.
Righteous Alliance bastards.
Security around the main entrance was heavy.
Even with Void Night Shadow Step...
sneaking directly through them into the Sect Leader's Palace would be difficult.
In that case....
I turned away from the front entrance and headed toward the rear.
Back when I worked in the Event Hall...
whenever a major gathering or sect meeting was held at the Sect Leader's Palace, we often brought in tea, documents, and ceremonial supplies from the back.
There was an old narrow side gate there.
It didn't lead directly into the main hall.
Beyond it was a narrow passage that connected to the side rooms and tea room beside the main hall.
It was a route that outsiders...
and even most newer members of the sect...
would have difficulty knowing about.
Of course...
it wasn't completely unguarded.
But the outsiders unfamiliar with the palace's internal layout were focused almost entirely on the main gate and the front of the hall.
Even the Kunlun disciples didn't seem to have thought it necessary to completely seal off that old internal passage.
That was enough.
Using Void Night Shadow Step to suppress my presence...
I slipped through the side gate.
A short while later...
I managed to hide in a side corridor of the Sect Leader's Palace without anyone noticing me.
From beyond the wall...
faint voices could be heard inside the main hall.
I placed one ear against the wall and circulated internal energy toward my hearing.
Soon...
I heard a familiar voice.
“We are holding the funeral as the Righteous Alliance requested.”
Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon.
His voice sounded unusually heated.
“But I still cannot understand your demand that we publicly declare the death of a disciple whose body has not even been found.”
An unfamiliar voice answered.
“Sect Leader.”
The tone was smooth...
but a strong pressure lay beneath it.
“The Righteous Alliance has already verified this matter.”
“Young Master Moyong Seong witnessed it personally, and the Alliance has formally recorded his testimony.”
Cheon Gwangcheon's voice immediately hardened.
“That does not change the fact that no one from our sect directly confirmed the death of our disciple.”
He continued firmly,
“No body was found in Falling Death Valley.”
“All that remains is Young Master Moyong Seong's testimony.”
His voice sharpened.
“To demand that we proclaim our disciple's death to the entire martial world based solely on that is excessive.”
The presumed Righteous Alliance messenger answered calmly.
“I understand that you do not wish to easily accept the death of your disciple.”
His tone remained composed.
“However, the martial world is currently more unstable than ever.”
I listened carefully.
“The shadow of the Demonic Cult hangs over the entire land, and martial artists everywhere are living in fear.”
I almost laughed.
The shadow of the Demonic Cult?
Considering I'd only recently come from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult...
the claim was absurd.
The messenger continued as if reciting a prepared speech.
“The death of Kunlun's Young Hero, Taoist Han Mujin, is regrettable.”
Then—
“But his death must become a warning that awakens the martial world.”
A warning to awaken the martial world?
What kind of bullshit was that?
I swallowed my anger and kept listening.
The Righteous Alliance messenger continued smoothly.
“A young genius known to have inherited the martial legacy of True Immortal Cheongun was murdered by the Demonic Cult.”
“Is that not proof of just how dangerous the current martial world has become?”
"..."
“But we cannot remain buried in grief forever.”
His voice hardened.
“Kunlun must now make a decision as well.”
“You must stand with the Righteous Alliance.”
A decision?
What did he mean?
I focused even harder.
Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon's voice came from inside.
“Stand with you?”
“What exactly are you implying?”
The messenger answered calmly.
“Surely you already know, Sect Leader.”
"..."
A short silence followed.
Then...
the Righteous Alliance messenger spoke the final words.
“The conquest of the Demonic Cult.”
For a moment...
I forgot to breathe.
